The Military Got here In When Snow Collapsed A Theater
The milk spill was not the worst catastrophe in recorded D.C. historical past—even probably the most pessimistic assessments listing it as quantity 2. That largest catastrophe occurred in January of that 12 months. That month noticed the most important snowfall in over three a long time, with two ft falling in little over a day, however that wasn’t the catastrophe. The catastrophe got here when, with a lot of town nonetheless at a standstill, 500 folks went to look at a humorous film on the Knickerbocker Theatre.
The Knickerbocker known as itself “the Titanic of theaters,” main many historians to later say, “Awww C’MON! Severely?” Just like the Titanic, the Knickerbocker was luxurious however is finest identified for its disastrous destruction: On January 28, the roof collapsed below the snow’s weight, killing practically 100 patrons. Additionally just like the Titanic, the orchestra continued to play music even throughout the catastrophe (on this case, throughout these seconds between when the roof started falling and when it landed on everybody’s heads).
For the rescue effort, D.C. summoned the military, males stationed at Fort Meyer in Arlington. Main George S. Patton led the cost. Patton was recovering that day from an allergic response to seafood he’d eaten, so he was feeling particularly itchy, and as with the final time we famous Patton main an effort in D.C., his presence makes the entire thing additional surreal. The military being there was at all times going to be bizarre, although. The distinction between the military coming in and, say, the hearth division arriving with rescue plans was that the military had orders to shoot if crucial.
